Pisa

Pisa, worldfamous for its leaning tower, has more to offer as we discovered in May 2023, but the stunning Piazza dei Miracoli is one of a kind. I think Kurt Hielscher would have agreed, because he made several photos here. It is just a magnificent place ànd we enjoyed the rest of the center of Pisa as well despite the rain and the fact that we had to share it with few other tourists.

Tower and Dom, 1925. Photo: Kurt Hielscher.

Tower and Dom. Photo: Casper Molenaar.

In August 2023 it was 850 years ago the construction of the tower started. When the third floor was reached five years later in 1178, the tower started to lean. Due to the war with Genoa and Florence, the works were halted for over 100 years, which gave the ground time to settle. Would the tower have been completed, for sure it would have collapsed. The tower was ready in 1372 but some archtictural tricks were needed to built the last few floors. In 1964, the Italian government asked for help to ensure that the tower, would not fall over. In January 1990 the tower was closed for safety reasons and after nearly 12 years of restoration works to reduce the angle of inclination, the tower was reopened to the public in 2001. The tower is a little less crooked now and that is the main difference in between Kurt Hielscher's photo and mine.

Dom, Piazza dei Miracoli, 1st of May 2023. Photo: Casper Molenaar.

Dom, Piazza dei Miracoli, 1925. Photo: Kurt Hielscher.

Dom, Piazza dei Miracoli, 1st of May 2023. Photo: Casper Molenaar.

The Baptisterium or the Battistero di San Giovanni

The Baptisterium in Pisa dates back to August 1153; "1153 Mense August fundata fuit haec", and is dedicated to John the Baptist. With a circumference of 107.25 meters and a height of 54.86 meters it is the largest baptistery in Italy. It I ssiuated just in front of the Dom. Ofcourse, I could have made this one a little better, but I was overwhelmed, maybe even enchanted by the Piazza dei Miracoli with all its miracles.